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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Congress of the People appoints its first mayor

By Khanyisa Tabata31 May 2011

The Congress of the People has appointed its first mayor in the country. Jan Julies will oversee the Karoo Hoogland local council in the Northern Cape.

The council governs the towns of Fraserburg, Sutherland and Williston.

Cope won a 31-percent share of the vote in the recent local government elections, and has entered into a coalition agreement with the Democratic Alliance, which won 21-percent.

Buthelezi not surprised by the ANC-NFP coalition

By Khanyisa Tabata31 May 2011

The Inkatha Freedom Party says the ANC-NFP coalition has signalled a "dark day for democracy in KwaZulu-Natal. IFP spokesperson Musa Zondi says the agreement will only further decimate the political opposition in the province.

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi says he is not surprised the breakaway party has resolved to work with the ANC in all hung municipalities the province.

He says he repeatedly warned the electorate that a vote for the NFP was a vote for the ANC.

Buthelezi says his warning has now been confirmed. ANC provincial chairperson Zweli Mkhize earlier today said his party and the National Freedom Party had agreed on a governing partnership in several municipalities in the province.

Four arrested for stealing state medicine in Eastern Cape

The Hawks in the Eastern Cape have arrested three women and a man for allegedly stealing and selling state medicine worth about R200 000.

The medicine had been stolen from various depots of the province’s health department.

The investigation began almost a year ago, after the Hawks received a tip-off that medication meant to be distributed in state hospitals and clinics were being sold by officials who were enriching themselves.

The suspects, all employees of the department, will appear in court in Mthatha tomorrow.

Zuma says Gaddafi is ready for truce

President Jacob Zuma says Muammar Gaddafi is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in Libya.

After his meeting in Tripoli with the Libyan leader, Zuma mentioned some conditions that Gaddafi insists on, that analysts say have scuttled previous cease-fire efforts.

Gaddafi will accept an African Union initiative for a cease-fire that would stop all hostilities, including Nato airstrikes in support of rebel forces.

But as part of what Zuma called a “roadmap” Gaddafi wants all Libyans to be given a chance to discuss the country's future.

Zuma did not say the Brother Leader, as Gaddafi is known, was ready to step down.

This is the central demand of the rebels.

Meanwhile, political analyst Harald Pakendorf says nothing came of an earlier attempt by a delegation from the African Union because rebel forces will accept no less than Muammar Gaddafi’s removal from power.

Pakendorf says Gaddafi’s close ties to the ANC may help Zuma tackle the problem.

A collision leaves five people injured

A collision on the N2 highway just past the Vanguard off ramp left five people injured this morning.

At this stage it is not known what caused the collision but it involved a total of nine passenger vehicles a minibus taxi and a large truck and trailer.

Earlier reports from the scene showed that the truck had jackknifed causing an obstruction on the busy highway.

Multiple emergency Medical Services were at the scene and a total of five people involved in the collision received treatment for injuries ranging from scrapes and bruises to suspected back and neck injuries.

The N2 highway inbound was later closed for traffic, as the busy morning traffic needed to be rerouted onto vanguard drive.

Cele urges police to defend themselves decisively

By Khanyisa Tabata29 May 2011

National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele has for the fifth weekend in a row had to attend the funerals of slain police members.

At the burials of two Cape Town police members yesterday, a visibly upset Cele urged officers not to be intimidated after four of their colleagues were murdered and three critically wounded in a week of violent crime.

The commissioner says when police members are under attack, they must defend themselves decisively.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Cape housing project halted for fraud probe

By Khanyisa Tabata28 May 2011

Payments for a Western Cape housing project in Middelpos have been suspended following claims of corruption around site allocation.

The province's human settlements department says it is probing allegations of corruption against the outgoing Saldanha municipality, relating to the allocation of up to one-thousand-350 sites to housing beneficiaries.

The area had been part of the ANC-controlled Saldanha Bay municipality. The DA took over the reins following last week's local government elections.

Prasa’s train collision pay-out labelled a ploy

Lusanda Bill28 May 2011

The South African Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is urging commuters injured in two train accidents in Gauteng not to accept the 10-thousand-Rands each the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa offering them.

Lawyers have labeled it a cynical ploy to head off a class action that could cost the rail operator a billion-Rands.

Prasa has put aside 10-million-Rands to pay out the more than a thousand victims of two train collisions, one in Pretoria last month and one Soweto last week.

The train victims have to sign a waiver preventing them from suing Prasa in court.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Newly appointed head of the SASSA vows to improve service to social grant beneficiaries

By Lelethu Mquqo26 May 2011

Recently appointed head of the South African Social Security Agency Virginia Peterson will implement a number of strategies to turn the organisation around to improve service to beneficiaries of government assistance.

Addressing the media in Pretoria, Peterson said she would start by introducing a new payment system to reduce the massive R6 billion administration cost of social grants and pensions.

Peterson says it will come up with several interventions to stop elderly social grant beneficiaries from being targeted by loan sharks.

She adds that her organization will be working closely with the Social Development Department to educate beneficiaries about the dangers of dealing with loan sharks.

South Africa chooses service delivery over the Olympic Games

Cabinet has decided that South Africa will not bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

At a post-Cabinet media briefing, government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said government has decided to rather focus on service delivery.

Cabinet calculated that the Olympic bid would have cost about R35-million.

It says service delivery should now be the priority.

Manyi lashed out at the media during the briefing.

After repeatedly refusing to answer questions about whether government supported Trevor Manuel for next leader of the International Monetary Fund, journalists told Manyi he need not have called a news conference at all.

Manyi said media briefings were necessary so that the blind and the deaf could also get information.

18-year-old eyewitness testifies in Jub Jub murder trial

by Lelethu Mquqo25 May 2011

An 18-year-old eyewitness, who recorded a video of murder-accused Molema "Jub-Jub" Maarohanye and Themba Tshabalala allegedly racing in their cars in Soweto in July last year, testified in the Protea Magistrate's Court today.

Ntokozo Mahlangu says she recognised "Jub-Jub" as one of the drivers.

She gave a copy of the cell phone video to an unidentified journalist.

Afrikanerbond getting impatient about its Malema hate speech case

By Lelethu Mquqo25 May 2011

The South African Human Rights Commission is allowing itself to be led by the nose by prominent politicians.

This is according to Afrikanerbond chief executive Jan Bosman, who says they have been waiting more than 14-months for the Commission to make any kind of progress in their hate speech case against Julius Malema.

Bosman says more than 500 similar complaints have been lodged against the ANC Youth League leader.

Motata could retire on full judge’s salary

By Lelethu Mquqo 24 May 2011

Judge Nkola Motata, who has been found guilty of drunk driving, has been paid almost R5 million while on special leave for the past four years.

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe is quoted today as saying Motata should remain on special leave with full pay until the Judicial Services Commission has concluded its investigation into allegations of gross misconduct.

AfriForum has complained that the judge used racist language against whites.

Should the JSC not conclude its investigation by February, when Motata retires, he could go on pension with a judge’s full salary.

They were investigating a routine incident in the informal settlement of Wallacedene when they were confronted by armed suspects and shot dead.

In just a matter of three days, four members of the South African Police Service have been killed and a sergeant remains in hospital after being seriously wounded in Creighton, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.

Cele says the murders must be regarded as a crisis and called on police in all the affected provinces to pull out all the stops to catch the killers.

Two Cape Town policemen gunned down in cold blood

By Lelethu Mquqo22 May 2011

Cape Town police say they will not rest until they have captured the gunmen who shot and killed two of the comrades in cold blood in Kraaifontein this morning.

Spokesperson Andre Traut says the 39-year-old warrant officer and the 23-year-old student constable were both shot in the head while attending a routine complaint at an informal dwelling in Wallacedene.

He said they were approached by a group of armed people and shot on the corners of Pedro and Boesak streets.

Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape Police, Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer, urged community members to come forward with any information that could help in the investigation of the case.

Government says Libya lied about Hammerl

Government has defended its handling of the killing of photojournalist Anton Hammerl by saying it had been constantly misled by the Libyan authorities over his whereabouts and condition.

Addressing a news conference in Pretoria, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said at one point even Muammar Gaddafi himself directly lied by confirming that Hammerl was alive and well.

When American journalists were released yesterday, it emerged that Hammerl had already been dead for 45 days after being shot by Gaddafi loyalists.

Nkoana-Mashabane says government is determined to ensure that his remains are brought back for a decent burial.

A high possibility of results to be released by tonight

Results for the local government elections are streaming and the leading party so far in the Western Cape is the Democratic Alliance.

The latest results that were released are from George, Paarl and Beaufort West.

In George the Democratic Alliance had 56.646 total valid voters and the DA won 51.02 % seats won. The African National Congress had a total of 43.876 valid voters and it won 38.78% of seats. The lowest party to win seats in George is the Congress of the People, it had 1.026 total valid voters and won 2.04% seats.

In Paarl the DA won followed by the ANC and the lowest party that won in Paarl is the People’s Democratic Movement. The DA had 84.535 total valid voters and won 57.38%. The ANC had 45.818 voters in Paarl and won 31.15%. The People’s Democratic Movement had 1.010 voters and won 1.64.

The IEC’s Chief Electoral Officer Courtney Sampson addressed the media and stated that the whole process will be completed by tonight.

Election results trickle in slowly

By Lelethu Mquqo19 May 2011

Laingsburg could give an indication of where Cope’s sentiments lie. Results from yesterday’s local government elections have been declared in the Karoo town, with the ANC and the DA being allocated three seats each.

Cope is the king-maker, having won one seat. No-one is prepared to say at this stage how the coalition will pan out.

In the Northern Cape, the ANC has snatched the ward of Thembelihle from the DA.

In the Southern Cape, the DA won an outright majority in Knysna in the Eden district.

The DA has also taken an early lead in the highly-contested Midvaal municipality.

Midvaal is the only municipality in Gauteng run by the DA.

The ANC had a significant lead in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in the Eastern Cape a while ago.

Pravin Gordhan says IMF should appoint a managing director from a developing country

By Lelethu Mquqo19 May 2011

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan believes the International Monetary Fund should appoint a managing director from a developing country.

He says such a candidate will bring a new perspective that will ensure that the interests of all countries are fully reflected.

Gordhan’s statement came after current IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday and formally charged in New York on Monday with seven counts involving sexual assault and attempted rape of a maid in a luxury hotel.

South Africa’s Trevor Manuel’s name is being mentioned as a possible successor.

South Africans choose their councillors

By Khanyisa Tabata18 May 2011

The country’s 20-thousand-868 voting stations should just have opened for South Africa’s fourth democratic local government elections. More than 23-million registered voters have the opportunity to elect their municipal councillors today.

Unlike in previous municipal elections, every voter in South Africa will be able to vote for one of four-thousand-277 ward councillors to represent them in their municipality.

A further 458 councillors will be appointed though a proportional representation vote in each municipality. This excludes district council councillors.

Voters living in one of South Africa's eight metropolitan councils will receive a yellow ballot paper to vote for a party, and a white ballot paper to vote for a ward councillor of their choice.

In South Africa's 226 non-metropolitan local councils, voters will also receive a third green ballot paper.

This is to vote for a party, which will through its candidate list appoint a percentage of councillors who will represent them in 44 district councils that will be responsible for providing bulk services to their municipalities.

Unlike in the previous national election in 2009, people can only vote at the station where they registered.

Farmers responsible for half of the country’s electricity theft

The power utility’s manager for energy loss, Maboe Maphaka, says they will soon take the matter up with the National Maize Producers’ Organisation with the aim of engaging with its 70-thousand members.

Maphaka says association appear to be operating across the country, and are tempting farmers to tamper with electrical installations.

It is believed that some Eskom employees are also involved, charging a hefty fee in the process.

Countrywide investigation into sanitation services

By Khanyisa Tabata17 May 2011

Government’s Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Department is investigating what led to the building of open toilets in the Free State’s Moqhaka municipality.

Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane says they will, together with the Human Settlements Department, report to the Human Rights Commission on the quality of sanitation services delivered countrywide by local government.

The HRC requested a report within a month after finding that the municipality had failed the residents of the township near Viljoenskroon by not providing decent toilet facilities.

In its response to the HRC’s findings on the ANC-run Moqhaka municipality, the DA says the ANC must apologise for calling it racist over the so-called Khayelitsha toilet saga in the Makhaza area of Cape Town.

DA spokesperson Lindiwe Mazibuko says the ANC needs to focus on the real issues at hand.

An eyewitness account by Brenda Leonard, Bush Radio Managing Director16 May 2011

The Mitchell's Plain Backyard Dwellers invaded two pieces of land on Saturday, 14th May at 13h00. Approximately 2000 people invaded the first piece of land which is next to the Kapteinsklip Station. Over 4000 people invaded the second piece of land next to the Swartklip Indoor Sports Field. The City Police gave the invaders a warning and asked them to dismantle their structures and disperse, but people refused. When night fell, the City Police and SAPS withdrew from both sites. On Sunday, at about 10h15, the City Police and the Anti-Land Invasion Unit of the City of Cape Town moved in to demolish the structures at Kapteinsklip station, and they removed the materials that people used to build their structures. Four people were arrested.

At approximately 14h00 on Sunday afternoon, the City Police, SAPS and the Anti-Land Invasion Unit of the City of Cape Town moved in to demolish the structures at Swartklip Sports Field. People formed a barricade to prevent them from entering the site, and the City Police and SAPS then used teargas to disperse people. When this did not work, they used a water cannon to disperse the crowd and to break down the shelters. When people resisted the breaking down of the shelters, they arrested the people. The situation escalated and the SAPS and City Police used rubber bullets to disperse people. The invaders and surrounding communities retaliated and threw stones at the City Police and SAPS, causing them to withdraw from the site. The residents then burned tyres in the road trying to prevent the City Police and SAPS from coming back, and it resulted in thirteen people being arrested at Swartklip Sports Field.

Dog fighting ring bust in Plettenberg Bay

Police Plettenberg Bay arrested ten people in connection with illegal dogfights at the weekend.

Eight Pit Bull Terriers have been confiscated. Two of the animals were seriously injured. The arrests were made on a farm at Ladywood.

Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie says they acted on information received from the public. They found two dogs fighting in a cage erected in the living room of the farm house. All the animals have been handed over to the Animal Welfare.

The suspects hail from Cape Town, Johannesburg, East London and Queens Town. They received bail of one-thousand-500 rands each and will appear in court on Thursday.

Zuma says fraudulent candidates will be removed

By Khanyisa Tabata16 May 2011

President Jacob Zuma has acknowledged that some ANC candidates may not have been chosen with the participation of their communities.

Speaking at a massive rally in Johannesburg’s FNB stadium yesterday, Zuma said an ANC task team would investigate problems relating to fraudulent candidates after the election on Wednesday, removing those found guilty.

He is confident that the ANC will win all municipalities, saying the ruling party is best placed to rectify the housing and poverty inequalities which still plague the country.

Police constable wounded during a robbery in Mitchells Plain

A police sergeant was seriously wounded during a robbery by three unknown suspects on Swartklip Road, Mandalay, Mitchells Plain.

Police spokesperson warrant officer November Filander says the attack happened when the member who was on foot to work, and dressed in full police uniform, was approached by three men.

“they unsuspected fired a shot at him, wounding him in his neck, and robbed him of his private firearm.

“The Mitchells Plain SAPS has registered a case of attempted murder. He is still in hospital, said Filander.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or who knows the whereabouts of the suspects is kindly requested to contact the investigation officer, Warrant Officer Pieter Joubert of Mitchells Plain SAPS on 0763739556 or the toll-free police number Crime Stop on 08600 10111.

23 arrested for drunk driving

Twenty-three drivers have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in an operation conducted by the Traffic, SAPS and Municipal Traffic over the weekend.

Minister for Community Albert Fritz says the highest alcohol reading was 1.46mg, recorded in Brackenfell, also up from last week’s 1.0mg.

“The number of speeding offences continues to soar with nearly 1350 drivers found exceeding the speed limit.

“We also had a tragic accident on the N1 just outside Touwsriver in the early hours of this morning, when the driver of a minibus taxi en route from the Eastern Cape to Cape Town, lost control of the vehicle, causing it to overturn,” said Fritz.

Body of a 75 year old man found in Pinelands

By Khanyisa Tabata15 May 2011

Police have recovered a body of a 75 year old man after they were alerted by a local security guard in Pinelands.

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer November Filander says the deceased was overpowered by two unidentified men at his house in Heldersig Street, Thornton in Pinelands, while busy removing his garbage.

“He was forcefully taken to the back of the house where he was fatally stabbed several times with an unknown sharp object.

“His 75 year old wife, who was alone with him the time of the incident, were also attacked by the suspects and later taken to a nearby hospital with head injuries,” said Filander.

He added that at this stage only two cellphones and the house keys were reported missing and a case of murder and house robbery has been opened.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspects can contact the investigating officer, Detective Constable Magnum Kersouw from Pinelands SAPS on 083 6288 778 or 021-506 2118.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Politicians wrap up election campaigns

By Khanyisa Tabata14 May 2011

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has told her party’s final election rally in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, today that every person who wants a better life for all should come out and vote for the DA in Wednesday’s local government election.

Zille says many councils hang in the balance, including the major urban centres of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Port Elizabeth. She says the DA has a chance of winning an outright majority in Cape Town.

Speaking in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, Zille told people that they don’t have to continue living in poverty, as the DA proven that it can deliver services for all.

The ANC will hold what it calls its “traditional victory rally, Siyanqoba,” at Johannesburg’s FNB stadium tomorrow - even before voters make their crosses.

The ruling party is expecting around 100-thousand people to descend on the stadium. President Jacob Zuma and other dignitaries’ addresses will be beamed to provincial Siyanqoba rallies in Cape Town, Mangaung and Pietermaritzburg.

Fraud investigators to swoop on Ehurhuleni

By Khanyisa Tabata14 May 2011

Police on the East Rand are reported to be preparing to swoop on the Ekurhuleni municipality and arrest five senior officials.

The Saturday Star says the crackdown could happen even before Wednesday’s election after the uncovering of an elaborate tender fraud in which hundreds-of-millions-of-Rands was spent on a computer system that does not work.

Whistleblowers are reported to have tipped off auditors. Specialist forensic investigators Aurco were called in when the scope of the fraud proved to be too big for the municipality’s auditors to handle.

Politicians wrap up election campaigns

By Khanyisa Tabata14 May 2011

Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille has told her party’s final election rally in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, today that every person who wants a better life for all should come out and vote for the DA in Wednesday’s local government election.

Zille says many councils hang in the balance, including the major urban centres of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Port Elizabeth. She says the DA has a chance of winning an outright majority in Cape Town.

Speaking in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa, Zille told people that they don’t have to continue living in poverty, as the DA proven that it can deliver services for all.

Meanwhile the ANC will hold what it calls its “traditional victory rally, Siyanqoba,” at Johannesburg’s FNB stadium tomorrow - even before voters make their crosses.

The ruling party is expecting around 100-thousand people to descend on the stadium.

President Jacob Zuma and other dignitaries’ addresses will be beamed to provincial Siyanqoba rallies in Cape Town, Mangaung and Pietermaritzburg.

Half a million worth of worth of historic East-Asian porcelain stolen in Pretoria

By Khanyisa Tabata14 May 2011

Pretoria police are searching for thieves who got away with half-a-million-Rands’ worth of historic East-Asian porcelain artefacts stolen from the Akademie vir Wetenskap and Kuns.

The science and art academy’s Jacques van der Elst suspects the theft is part of a larger syndicate targeting porcelain art works. He adds that part of the historic building housing their offices was destroyed after the burglars came in through the roof.

They were disturbed by the alarm system, but had already taken half of the rare Japanese and Chinese porcelain collection.

Missing alert

Court to rule on ANC appeal against ban on controversial song

By Khanyisa Tabata14 May 2011

Judgment is expected to be handed down next week in an application by the ANC for leave to appeal an order that the Shoot the Boer song incites crime.

The South Gauteng High Court is expected to rule on Monday after a Mpumalanga farmer in March successfully applied for an order to ban the song which ANC Youth League president Julius Malema insists on singing.

Civil society group AfriForum points out that this case is separate from their hate speech case against Malema for singing the struggle song.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Conduct Committee is this morning hearing a racism complaint against Judge Nkola Motata.

The complaint reates to remarks Motata made after he crashed his car into a wall in Johannesburg while drunk.

AfriForum says an audio recording of the events, played in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court during his trial, revealed that he had made racist remarks against whites after the crash.

They believe Motata's conduct violates the public's confidence in the legal system.

Johannesburg billing crisis slowly being resolved

The City of Johannesburg says it has resolved more than 51-thousand of the 65-thousand queries relating to its billing system.

Spokesperson Stanley Maphologela thanked residents of the city for their patience while they wait for the remaining queries to be answered.

The city came under fire earlier this year after thousands of residents received inflated electricity and water bills. The City says it has since redesigned its revenue system to become more customer-focused.

Toilet wars become an election feature

By Khanyisa Tabata13 May 2011

With local government elections just days away, the Gauteng local government and housing department yesterday started delivering the first batch of chemical toilets to the Sicelo Shiceka informal settlement in Midvaal.

MEC Humphrey Mmemezi promised to provide the toilets in the hotly contested DA-led municipality after finding during a walk-about in the area that residents had to rely on open pit toilets. The ANC has vowed to win back the municipality.

Meanwhile, the ANC has vowed stern action if the mayor of the Maqhaka municipality had benefitted from the Viljoenskroon open toilet debacle. The ANC in the

Free State has admitted that mayor Mantebu Mokgosi had informed them that her husband's company was a sub-contractor in the project.

Provincial ANC secretary Sibongile Besani says they had decided to handle the matter on a political and not on an individual level. Observers say the so-called toilet wars have become a feature of the election.

Education Dept. issues stern warning to Delft learners ahead of march

The Western Cape Education Department has issued a warning to learners at the Masibambisane Secondary School in Delft who plan to partake in a march today.

Department spokesperson Bronagh Casey warned that “any learner or educator that leaves school during school hours will face disciplinary action”.

Casey says it is not clear what sprung the learners into action, but the planned march comes after a number of disruptions at the school in recent weeks.

She says the march, which appears to be led by two learners and supported by the African People’s Convention, has little to do with the concerns of the learners.

“There have been numerous attempts to engage constructively on the concerns learners have raised in the last few weeks. However, the substance of these concerns change everyday to the extent that the only conclusion to draw is that this has little to do with education matters and has broader political overtones,” says Casey.

Casey added that the safety of learners and their rights will be prioritized by the department and police.

“Regardless of the motivation for a march, I wish to make it very clear that the WCED along with SAPS will do everything to ensure the safety of learners and school property,” says Casey.

Seasoned journo will be sorely missed- Communications Chairperson

By Kim Saulse11 May 2011

The Portfolio Committee on Communications has expressed its condolences to the family of seasoned political journalist Kgomotso Sebetso who was the casualty of a fatal accident in Gauteng at the weekend.

In a statement Chairperson of the committee, Eric Kholwane, said the loss of the Sebetso was not only a loss to the national broadcaster, but also to the journalism fraternity.

“Mr Sebetso knew how to balance a story, reflecting all the different sides of an issue,” added Kholwane.

Politicians get personal

Personal attacks are increasing as next week’s local government elections draw near. ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu has accused Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille of “not thinking like a human being”.

Jackson was responding to Zille’s reported statement that the open toilet saga in Cape Town had been blown out of proportion.

Following the Cape Town incident, for which the ANC took the City to court, it has emerged that residents of an ANC-controlled municipality at Viljoenskroon in the Free State have been subjected to unenclosed toilets for years.

Meanwhile, the ANC says employers who don’t release their workers to freely cast their vote border on undermining the laws of the land.

Mthembu says if workers have to be at work for whatever reason on next week Wednesday’s public holiday, arrangements must be made to release them to go and vote before returning to work.

One pupil still in hospital after eating expired gum

By Khanyisa Tabata 11 May 2011

The provincial health department says one learner is still being treated for food poisoning after eating expired chewing gum.

Health department spokesperson Mark van der Heever says the learners aged seven and 14 were transported to Kraaifontein, Delft and Elsies River Community Health Centres as well as Tygerberg & Karl Bremer Hospital. Children were also treated at the Fisantekraal Clinic but were discharged

Van der Heever says the Environmental Health officers from the City of Cape Town's Health Department investigated the matter and samples of the goods were taken for laboratory tests.

He says the Western Cape Department of Health appeals to the communities not to eat food which had already expired as it could be very dangerous.

200 learners admitted to hospital after eating an expired chewing gum

At least 200 learners from the Trevor Manuel Primary School in Fisantekraal in Cape Town were admitted to hospital yesterday after they ate expired chewing gum.

The learners reportedly started vomiting after the gum raised their blood sugar levels too rapidly.

The City of Cape Town’s Wilfred Solomons-Johannes says a group of learners found the chewing gum on a nearby farm and shared it with their classmates.

He says the goods were intended to be disposed of in the correct manner and the city’s department of health will investigate the matter and they’ve taken samples of the goods that will be taken for laboratory tests

ANC does toilet damage control

By Khayisa Tabata11 May 2011

Julius Malema has promised that heads will roll over the ANC open toilet scandal in the Free State. After inspecting the humiliating sight in the Rammulotsi township near Viljoenskroon, the ANC Youth League leader said someone had to take responsibility for the debacle.

Last month, the Western Cape High Court ordered the DA-led City of Cape Town to enclose one-thousand-300 toilets in the Makhaza settlement in Khayelitsha.

During yesterday’s visit, Free State Premier Ace Magashule repeated the ANC's earlier comment that it had not known about the open toilets in an area controlled by the ruling party.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission has reacted to the unenclosed toilet saga by calling on political parties to respect the Constitutional mandate and independence of the Commission.

The HRC says the critical human rights of the poorest people should not be reduced to political footballs.

After criticism from the DA that the investigation into the Viljoenskroon toilets had dragged on for months, the Commission gave the assurance that its report on the matter would be released shortly.

Why are young people voting in the Western Cape?

MEC Donald Grant concerned about latecomers at school

By Khanyisa Tabata10 May 2011

Western Cape Education Minister Donald Grant says he has taken into account the late coming and loitering by learners of Vista High School after he received the information from a member of the public.

Grant says this kind of behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. He says learners need to be at school.

“This morning I went to Vista High School to investigate the public’s complaint and I met the principal of the school, who explained to me that late coming was a concern.

“Each morning, the names of the late learners are recorded and each of them then has to report for a 40 minute detention after school that day,” said Grant.

Grant says last term; over 100 learners were late on any given day, with some learners arriving over one hour after the first school bell.

“Therefore, not only have the numbers of late learners decreased, the amount of teaching and learning time lost has also declined.

“It is evident that many of the learners are making an extra effort to be at school on time in order to avoid attending detention,” said Grant.

Samwu national strike suspended

The national planned strike of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union for Friday has been suspended.

The union had planned that more than 200,000 workers, excluding those in essential services, would go on strike on.

Samwu’s spokesperson Tahir Sema said “The strike action has been suspended due to the late, but welcome intervention by the ANC. The ANC had made firm commitments to the concerns and demands we have raised”.

Sema added that if the ANC does not keep its promise than a strike will go ahead.